McLaren Chief Executive Zak Brown has left the door wide open for a future Formula 1 partnership with Max Verstappen, revealing that exploratory talks held between the two last summer left him deeply impressed by the Red Bull Racing driver’s character and competitive focus.
Verstappen, who is locked into a long-term contract with Red Bull through the end of the 2030 season, has maintained a quiet stance regarding any future grid shifts. Yet Brown’s recent disclosures to De Telegraaf indicate that the four-time world champion remains firmly on McLaren’s radar for the later years of the decade.
Exploratory Talks and a Shift in Perspective
Brown acknowledged that he met with Verstappen on several occasions over the summer break simply to get to know him better. While the conversations did not involve any immediate transfer talks to the Woking-based outfit, the encounters reshaped Brown’s assessment of the Dutch driver away from the racing circuit.
“If I had to use one word to describe him right now, it would be a word that hadn’t occurred to me before that: charming,” Brown told De Telegraaf, noting that those unfamiliar with Verstappen might not characterize him that way. Brown added that he is genuinely impressed by Verstappen, calling him a racer through and through.
Verstappen himself previously acknowledged that meetings took place, maintaining that he treats all such dialogues seriously while remaining committed to his current squad.
Parallels Drawn to Fernando Alonso
Brown drew direct comparisons between Verstappen’s intense technical dedication and the work ethic of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, whom Brown previously worked with and praised extensively. Specifically, the McLaren executive pointed to Verstappen’s active involvement in his own GT3 racing program and his deep technical understanding of motorsport.
To illustrate this extreme level of preparation, Brown recalled a flight to the Indy 500 alongside Alonso. While Brown ordered a glass of wine, Alonso spent the entire flight watching two hundred laps of onboard camera footage from a previous edition of the race. Brown noted that while it must rank among the most tedious tasks imaginable, it demonstrated Alonso’s refusal to leave anything to chance—a total focus on detail that Brown now recognizes in Verstappen as well.
Current Lineup Security and Long-Term Prospects
Despite his admiration for the Red Bull star, Brown emphasized that McLaren has no available seats for the near future. The team’s current driver pairing consists of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, both of whom are firmly established under long-term agreements. Brown reiterated his complete satisfaction with his current lineup ahead of the season.
Even so, the McLaren boss made it clear that the prospect of working together eventually remains entirely viable once current contracts run their course. Verstappen’s multi-year extension with Red Bull through 2030 definitively closed the book on immediate exit clauses, but Brown believes the horizon remains wide open.
“The door is wide open for Max,” Brown stated to De Telegraaf. “For 2028, 2029, or any other year. I enjoyed getting to know him better and would love to work with him someday.”
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